The Book on Scott Elbert

Prospect Info

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Scott Elbert
Born 8/13/1985
LHP, LAD

The Dodgers passed up Phil Hughes for Elbert -- maybe foolishly -- but there's nothing foolish about Elbert. One of the minors' best left-handed pitchers, the first round pick Elbert has power stuff with an exploding 93-95 mph fastball and a sinker/slider that's best in class.

However, Elbert's delivery is unconventional, often leading to some disastrous walk numbers in 2006 and a few fingers pointing him to the Instructional League. His control looked more in hand before his 2007 season was shut down for some (minor) cleanup surgery, which makes him an intriguing prospect for 2008. He may be ranked much too low on many lists because of his lost season.

Elbert's arm quality is very very high, and he seems to have the mental makeup to survive some bumps along his path to the majors. Since the combination of the surgery flag and his odd delivery may scare too many people into ranking him quite low, he's an excellent sleeper candidate for 2009. Chad Billingsley and Clay Kershaw might get a lot of the attention in LA, but Elbert just might be the real future ace of the Dodgers.

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Player Updates and Notes

According to the Dodgers' website, Elbert's new shoulder is not expected to be 100 percent by spring training. He'll make rehab starts in April with an eye to a formal debut in May.

1/17/2008 by KDaddy

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The signing of Japanese All-Star Kuroda knocks Elbert back one more spot on the depth chart, making him less likely for 2008.

12/16/2007 by BallGrrrl

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